Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s HII Transfer Vehicle-X (HTV X-1) successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 29.

Leonardo DRS reported a jump in sales as CEO Bill Lynn announced he would exit the business at year-end.

Spanish ministers have approved funding for the acquisition of a fleet of Turkish Aerospace Industries Hurjet trainers and an associated training system.

The Defense Ministry is looking to set up a single unit to manage its satellites, creating an opportunity for closer cooperation between ISR and satcoms programs.

China has conducted the first flight of a new advanced jet trainer, with photos circulating online showing the twin-engine aircraft airborne and on the ground.

Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky marched through a seven-hour, multitask spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 28.

AAM Briefs: E-Crowd, MagniX, ANRA Technologies & More

Before year’s end, a startup plans to launch inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage a manufacturing pod that would briefly experience the vacuum of space.

Should Textron Aviation Defense win the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System program, the company will assemble the Beechcraft M-346N in Kansas.

A UK firm is adapting tech developed for smartphones and driverless automobiles to provide the navigational accuracy for a new generation of low-cost munitions.

U.S. startup Merlin has reached a milestone in the development of its Merlin Pilot autonomous flight system.

The U.S. Army has picked AEVEX’s Atlas to advance as its initial Launched Effects-Short Range (LE-SR) system following a series of demonstrations this year.

Flown by NASA X-59 lead pilot Nils Larson, the much-anticipated first flight of the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft began at 8:14 a.m. PDT Oct. 28.

South Korea has launched the second phase of its advanced air mobility demonstration project with urban demonstration flights in the city of Incheon, bordering the Korean capital Seoul.

Germany’s MD Aircraft has secured Piper Deutschland as a strategic partner and investor in the development and production of the MDA1 eViator.

European Space Agency opens first Asian office.

Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior has become the first export operator of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KUH-1 Surion twin-engine medium helicopter.

Cryogenics specialist Fabrum has demonstrated filling of lightweight composite tanks with liquid hydrogen.

Hill Helicopters has further delayed a planned first engine run of its independently developed GT50 turbine powerplant.

The ERS initiative to build up the region’s autonomy in key security-related areas could see its first space launches take place in 2028.

Paris has given Thales the nod to provide the next-generation, ground-based Aurore space surveillance radar to track spacecraft and debris in low Earth orbit.

Luminary Cloud partnered with Northrop Grumman to accelerate the design and development of rocket nozzles and thrusters for spacecraft from years to months.

The French government has declared the latest iteration of its M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile is ready for operational service.

Polish defense company PGZ has teamed up with Anduril to potentially produce the latter’s Barracuda low-cost cruise missile in Poland.

Castelion announced Oct. 24 it has received multiple contracts to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon system onto existing U.S. Army and Navy platforms.